‘Nashville’ Renewed? CMT Resurrecting Canceled ABC Series

The country music drama Nashville will play again thanks to the country music channel, CMT. The official announcement came on Friday and the show will return for 22 episodes, according to Deadline.

ABC made the surprising decision to cancel Nashville after four seasons on May 12. The show, starring Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere, ended nearly two weeks later on a cliffhanger.

Lionsgate TV, the studio behind the show, pitched a fifth season to streaming services and traditional networks including Hulu, which airs previous seasons, and CMT, which also plays Nashville repeats, according to Deadline. The studio told investors last week that “our near-term plan is to get another season” and “they hope to talk about this show for years to come.”

In March, Lionsgate TV hired Thirtysomething Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz as new showrunners in an attempt to secure a renewal. They will retain that position, succeeding former showrunner Dee Johnson, according to TVLine.

In the season four finale, the plane carrying Juliette Barnes (Panettiere) lost radio contact. Her estranged husband Avery and daughter Cadence were left waiting on the tarmac for her arrival.

Britton’s character Rayna got a happier ending with her family — Deacon, Maddie and Daphne — reuniting at a benefit concert. Scarlett (Clare Bowen) and Gunnar (Sam Palladio) finally admitted they still love each other and sealed it with a kiss. And Will (Chris Carmack) recruited Luke (Will Chase) and Kevin (Kyle Dean Massey) for a protest concert outside the studio of a right-wing bigoted host, who refused to have Will on her show because he’s gay.

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